(Pictured: Back row, from left: Emma Hafenecker, Clara Ernst,  Abigail Ragsdale, Emily Roy, Stacey Augustine, Tim Strange. Front, from left: Wiley Billings, Brennan Tibbetts, Maple Corey, Sandy Jamison. [photo courtesy of Annie Twitchell])

The fifth-grade students at Cascade Brook School had some very exciting projects this past school year. Two teams entered the 2023/24 Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision National Science competition.

Led by their Gifted and Talented Teacher/Coach, Sandra Jamison, the students brainstormed world problems, picked one, and then developed an invention that could solve the problem. This required lots of research and innovative thinking. They researched past and present technology, designed their “solution” and then wrote about breakthroughs needed to make it a reality, explained their design process, and drew their invention.

One team, comprised of fifth graders Emily Roy, Brennan Tibbetts, and Maple Corey came up with the idea for ‘H.E.L.P.’, a small device that would sit in the ear and receive signals and data from the body, diagnose the symptoms, and help treat the cause.

H.E.L.P. stands for ‘Helping Everyone Live Perfectly’ and the device is like having a doctor in your ear.  The H.E.L.P. team earned an honorable mention in the ExploraVision competition, which means they placed in the top ten percent of all 2,000 competing teams. Each student received a certificate commemorating this achievement.

The second team, comprised of fifth graders Clara Ernst, Wiley Billings, Emma Hafenecker, and Abigail Ragsdale, designed MER, short for Medical Earth Robot. The students wanted to find a way to help with one of the most preventable deaths on the battlefield: loss of blood.

MER is a robot with three compartments, two of which have drills to tunnel through the ground. The third compartment is where the magic happens: a protective dome unfolds and covers an injured person. Inside the dome, robotic arms equipped with tools perform essential emergency medical care to stabilize the patient before transmitting a signal to the nearest emergency medical personnel and moving to the next patient.

The MER project was selected as one of 24 regional winning projects. As Regional winners, each student and their coach received a Chromebook and participated in a National competition.

Both teams were recognized and honored in a special ceremony on April 25, 2024 at Cascade Brook School with a Toshiba representative Tim Strange.  Cascade Brook School sure is proud of these students!! Congratulations to Emily, Brennan, Maple, Clara, Wiley, Emma, and Abigail!